Connect U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) to Claude
Query U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) directly from Claude. Arlet links the two through one MCP connection and takes care of API keys.
This server connects your AI client to the Bureau of Economic Analysis API - the primary source for US GDP and the national accounts. BEA data is organized as datasets of named tables, and the table identifiers (T10101, T20600, ...) are not guessable, so the server provides a three-step flow.
Key features:
- list_datasets: without arguments, all datasets (NIPA, Regional, ITA, IIP, GDPbyIndustry, InputOutput, ...); with a dataset name, that dataset's parameters and which are required.
- list_parameter_values: enumerate a parameter's accepted values with keyword filtering - e.g. search NIPA TableName values for 'gross domestic product' to find T10101.
- get_data: fetch a table by dataset + TableName with a frequency (annual/quarterly/monthly) and years, plus dataset-specific extra parameters such as LineCode and GeoFips for Regional data.
Division of labor with FRED: FRED is faster for a single headline series (GDP level or growth rate); BEA is the source when you need a full table with all its line items - the composition of GDP, income by state, trade in services by type.
Arlet obtains and manages the UserID, so there is nothing for you to sign up for or configure - just switch the server on. (Upstream throttles at 100 requests/minute per key, and that budget is shared across Arlet users.)
How to connect U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) to Claude
- 1
In the Arlet dashboard, open Data tools, find U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and switch it on. No API key setup is needed.
- 2
In Claude, open Organization settings → Connectors from the account menu at the bottom left, then click + Add.
- 3
Choose Custom → Web, enter "Arlet" as the Name and https://mcp.arlet.dev/mcp/ as the Remote MCP server URL, then click Add. Authentication settings are auto-detected, so keep the defaults.
- 4
The first time you use it, sign in with Google. After that, every service you switched on in Arlet is available from Claude.
Adding a connector is done by an organization admin on Team / Enterprise plans. On Pro / Max you can add it for yourself from Settings → Connectors with the same steps.